What do you do for a follow-up to one of the most popular, innovative, well-reviewed productivity apps of 2012? Well, the designers of Clear have definitely zigged where they could have zagged: They made a virtual pet.

We love the Olympics, but an international social media showdown is a little more our speed.

Ignite Social Media is back with the 2012 Social Network Analysis Report, breaking down demographic, geographic and search data that shows which networks are the underdogs and which are mounting the winners’ podium.

The integration of social media signals to search algorithms is changing how search engines are performing. Studies show at least 58% of consumers go to search engines to search for something online, while 40% would then seek further decision-making help through their friends or colleagues at social media.

All-in-all, about 48% of consumers are using some forms of combining social media with search to help them in their purchasing decisions.

Facebook ad units can seem challenging and confusing to many advertisers, with the constant changes. Nanigans, a Facebook Strategic Preferred Marketing Developer, understands this and recently published a handy cheat sheet for advertisers or those who would like to better understand paid media on Facebook.

This actually means, "it wasn't important enough." It wasn't a high priority, fun, distracting, profitable or urgent enough to make it to the top of the list. Every few days, Twitter and Facebook soak up a billion hours of 'spare'...

Social media activity is an increasingly important factor in search rankings.

It’s no secret that the search engine optimization landscape has changed dramatically and the factors that influence high SEO rankings have changed as well. The reality is the web is now highly social, and this dramatically changes search. With so many highly evolved social media platforms, it’s hard to decipher which platforms have the most impact on SEO (see also: The Difference Between SEO and SEM).

In this article, we will dig into the world of modern SEO to see not just how social media affects search, but which social media platforms have the most impact on search optimization.

What Small Businesses Should Know [Infographics] Business 2 Community These infographics guide audiences through step-by-step processes. They should be relatively comprehensive, explaining the 'hows' and 'whys' around a specific topic of interest.

PhotoMania is THE best Free online photo editor in the world! Providing more than 500 state-of-the-art photo effects that will allow you to turn your photos into exciting visual art with a single click!

Social media has become an essential part of our daily lives, but, with so many networks out there fighting for our attention which networks are we really using? Overall, 72% of adults over the age of 18 used a social network in 2012. Currently Facebook is still the most popular site with 62% of adult global Internet users actively logging in, with nearly half of these users active on Twitter too...

Make sure that you understand the target audience and i dentify the social media they prefer. In Indonesia, the total internet user reach 23,% out of the total population and mostly are young people, 15-19 years old.Recently, we have seen the growth of Twitter users . This is an opportunity for librarians to a good opportunity for librarian to reach more audience

I find it interesting to note parallels and contrasts between use of social networks in f2f environments and online environments. In some instances the online version works better for those who flounder in person. In some cases people who love the real world interactions disparage the online ones. But for most of us, there seems to be a parallel in our patterns and style it would seem. Where should children "learn" how to do this, or is that lesson beside the point at this time?

There are 22 million people following the top 100 social media savvy universities on Facebook. Which ones are in the top 3? One of them is a certain well-known major research university in the Midwest. Find out via this handy infographic.

Related tools & posts by Deb:

Stay in touch with Best of the Best news, taken from Deb's NINE multi-gold award winning curation streams @Deb Nystrom, REVELN, sent once a month via email, available for free here, via REVELN Tools.

Top 5 Apple BlockBusters and Reasons the iPad Ruled the Tablets in 2013

Also see Deb’s Social Media Learning Lab and REVELN Tools pages. Are you local to SE Michigan? Find out more about horse-guided leadership development sessions (a no fee demo) for individual professionals by contacting Deb, after reviewing her horse-guided information via her coaching page here.

Earlier this month, Facebook dropped a bombshell by not only acknowledging that Facebook pages’ organic reach was declining but also by telling us we shouldn’t expect them to recover. Facebook’s VP of Product for Facebook Ads, Brian Boland, went on to explain that this is the new world we live in now, that the same thing happened with search engines before and that we’d better get used to it. It’s true that many platforms go through a similar cycle: first, they present a great free opportunity, then more and more people grab it - decreasing the return for everyone until finally, the platform focuses on those ready to pay for play. It happened with Google Search; it happened with Apps (yes, Apple doesn’t sell ads but others do - such as coincidentally... Facebook). And now that all social media are publicly-traded company with ambitious revenue targets to reach, it will happen to social media as well. So what does the decline of organic reach on Facebook and social platforms exactly mean on a practical basis? Continue reading →

I selected this article by Andrew Osegi for Kunocreativ because it addresses a topic that every social media marketer should be concerned about.

He asks a very important question:

"How do we give value to the fleeting micro engagements that make up social media interaction?"

Some insights to get you thinking and leveraging your messages and conversations online.

Here are a few highlights:

As the web grows, so too will the number of users invested in social media networking. In order for anyone (brand or individual) to reap the benefits of social, businesses must establish a reputable(i.e. searchable) presence in their niche or industry. This takes A) time and B) money.

Your social strategy must reflect, and adhere to, the measurable data produced when posting. This data will direct how you conduct future social media campaigns - where ROI really matters. More on that in this article.

He refers to social capital - In an article by Rig Dragon, social capital is difficult to predict and measure, but most definitely applicable in social media. Social media, like advertising, creates unseen impressions too important to ignore. - Good insights here!

Takeaway:

Think of your social media efforts as a transaction of energy. Reciprocal conversation, online or in person, is rewarding to all parties involved.

1. THE FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC ON TWITTER IS THE 55–64 YEAR AGE BRACKET.

This demographic has grown 79% since 2012.The 45–54 year age bracket is the fastest growing demographic on both Facebook and Google+.For Facebook, this group has jumped 46%.For Google+, 56%.

2. 189 MILLION OF FACEBOOK’S USERS ARE "MOBILE ONLY" Mobile use generates 30% of Facebook’s ad revenue as well. This is a 7% increase from the end of 2012 already.

6. LINKEDIN HAS A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF ACTIVE USERS THAN PINTEREST, GOOGLE+, TWITTER AND FACEBOOK

Although LinkedIn is gathering new users at a fast rate, the number of active users is lower than most of the biggest social networks around. So more people are signing up, but they’re not participating.

This means you’re probably not going to have as good a response with participatory content on LinkedIn, like contests or polls, as you might on Facebook or Twitter.

Rethink it: If you’re hoping to get people involved, think about which platforms are best for that. ...Twitter and Facebook....might be a better place for your contest or survey, while passive content like blog posts or slide decks might be just right for your LinkedIn audience.

There is a evil side of Google which revealed itself in the Filter Bubble, invasion of privacy, the lack of transparency, in the monopoly induction of behavior and especially in what is happening in the search environment.

People who use Google are given the impression that they are interacting with the data out there, but they are actually interacting with Google and its view of the world.

"They are prediction engines that constantly refine a theory about who you are and what you are going to do or want next. Together, they create an universe of data for each one of us."

"In a 2010 paper published in the Scientific American journal, Tim Berners-Lee warned about companies developing ever more “closed” products and “data islands”.

"Morville, in his book Search Patterns, says that the first and second results receive 80% of attention. The vertical approach suggests to the user the idea of a single result that fully answers the question, enclosing possibilities and preventing alternative realization."

Or in other words, is our acceptance of what we see in search results eroding our ability (or willingness) to consider alternatives and employ critical thinking?

Sharing your scoops to your social media accounts is a must to distribute your curated content. Not only will it drive traffic and leads through your content, but it will help show your expertise with your followers.

Integrating your curated content to your website or blog will allow you to increase your website visitors’ engagement, boost SEO and acquire new visitors. By redirecting your social media traffic to your website, Scoop.it will also help you generate more qualified traffic and leads from your curation work.

Distributing your curated content through a newsletter is a great way to nurture and engage your email subscribers will developing your traffic and visibility.
Creating engaging newsletters with your curated content is really easy.